Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams clashed while filming 'The Notebook'

As Allie and Noah in "The Notebook," Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling made romantic sparks fly. On set, however, the sparks were of a completely different nature, the director reveals.

As Allie and Noah in "The Notebook," Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling made romantic sparks fly. On set, however, the sparks were of a completely different nature, the director reveals. (Melissa Moseley / New Line Cinema)

Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams fought on the set of 'The Notebook,' director reveals

A decade after the release of 'The Notebook,' a secret about Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams goes public

"The Notebook" is all about the love story, but during filming costars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams weren't all unicorns and butterflies with each other, according to a new interview with the movie's director.

"Maybe I’m not supposed to tell this story, but they were really not getting along one day on set. Really not," Nick Cassavetes told VH1 in an interview to mark the 10-year anniversary of the film's June 25, 2004, release.

CaptionNumber 50: Maggie Q

Shizuo Kambayashi / For the Times

Why you know her: She's appeared in everything from action blockbusters (Live Free or Die Hard) to art-house fare ( New York, I Love You) Why we love her: She's passionate about PETA and was even responsible for making sure no real fur snuck onto the costumes for the Chinese film "Three Kingdoms." Plus, check out her vegetarian recruiting poster!

Why you know her: She's appeared in everything from action blockbusters (Live Free or Die Hard) to art-house fare ( New York, I Love You) Why we love her: She's passionate about PETA and was even responsible for making sure no real fur snuck onto the costumes for the Chinese film "Three Kingdoms." Plus, check out her vegetarian recruiting poster! (Shizuo Kambayashi / For the Times)

Where you've seen her: On the tennis courts Why we love her: There are plenty of beautiful tennis players out there, but she's the rare woman who combines athleticism with her looks. She won the French Open in 2008.

Where you've seen her: On the tennis courts Why we love her: There are plenty of beautiful tennis players out there, but she's the rare woman who combines athleticism with her looks. She won the French Open in 2008. (Adam Pretty / Bongarts/Getty Images)

Cassavetes said he, his stars and a producer took it to a room where the scene partners "started screaming and yelling at each other. I walked out."

A few minutes later -- apparently in the time it takes to smoke a cigarette -- Gosling and McAdams emerged from the room ready to work. And the show went on.

"I think Ryan respected her for standing up for her character and Rachel was happy to get that out in the open," the director said. "The rest of the film wasn’t smooth sailing, but it was smoother sailing."

The costars would, of course, start dating about a year after "The Notebook" hit theaters. They broke up in 2007, with a brief reconciliation in 2008.

"People do Rachel and me a disservice by assuming we were anything like the people in that movie," Gosling told GQ a few months after the first breakup. "Rachel and my love story is a hell of a lot more romantic than that."